Question More!
The most influential school teacher I ever had, was a summer school teacher who got us students to question everything. Mr. Wasser was a science teacher who would hold up magazine ads with vague claims and ask the class if they were true or not. He would point out the misleading messages and we’d spend time, like Myth Busters, disproving empty claims in ads using science, pragmatism and some common sense. Wow did that lesson ever stick!
My personality leans heavily on the side of, “prove it to me” and that’s where it all began. It’s no wonder I became an entrepreneur, Trustee, advisor. It’s very core is finding the truth and challenging false beliefs about everything. I do mean everything.
We may disagree on a conclusion, or even a solution, but the core characteristic is there; to get to the bottom of everything. To use an old, very overused expression, I have a willingness to call a spade a spade, and expression first used all the way back in 1542. (I looked it up.) The unwillingness to call out what’s happening has gone on for hundreds of thousands of years. I’ve also developed a near intolerance for those who won’t question anything.
It was my pragmatism and willingness to get clarity, even when it was otherwise murky that made me good at my work as Trustee. It was what got me to solve problems as an entrepreneur and it’s the core method for fixing broken companies. There is a downside because at times it’s isolation and people often don’t want something questioned that is a hard-felt belief.
If you believed the earth is flat all your life, imagine how hard it is to accept the alternative? Especially, when you’re so invested in a bad idea. It’s nearly impossible to accept a new possibility.
The problem is, that in life, we’re surrounded by massive group think and most of us don’t even know it. We go along with what supports already held beliefs. Movie makers have been exploiting that side of people for decades.
I know I’ve fallen into the trap from time to time, but I’m always working to combat it in my life. It’s everywhere and people have generally become intellectually lazy and don’t question enough. A massive number of people will believe anything on the news, which is why there is so much fake news in the first place. Fake news exists because it works. Fake news exists because there is a market for fake news.
Those creating fake news, know the public won’t question what are knowingly false or misleading claims most of the time. If fake news was called out more often, there would be less of it. That’s up to you to question what you read and hear, even if it runs counter to the group. Just because it’s recorded, doesn’t make it correct. We’re surrounded by pluralistic ignorance.
Advertisements don’t prove anything because the public doesn’t demand that they do. The advertising is effective, even when it’s misleading.
Ever when they claim “studies,” what qualifies as a, “study?” That could be someone making something up. “Doctors recommend” means you pay a doctor to recommend something. A old joke we’d play on people, “Do you know that gullible isn’t a word in the dictionary?” Of course they would look up the word.
I’m facing a dilemma right now in my work, where I’m beginning to see a pattern where companies are in trouble, but what got them there was a false set of beliefs. It’s often the belief in their own internal fake news. It’s isolating to get them to face the facts. It’s made my work not so much fun when I have to fight it. I find myself wanting to say, “fine, go think what you want to think and good luck keeping that boat afloat…” and just move on.
I love to come back home, settle in, and just write about something else, and learn something new, and enjoy the search for solid data and new ideas.
When I see the lack of critical thinking in the world, I get a little worried. Anyone’s agenda can be deemed a fact, and that’s it. It’s scary to think that’s the road we’re on. Cheers to those willing to question everything. It seems like we’re a smaller group every day.